Sales of human organs taken from executed prisoners are thriving in China, targeted at foreigners who need transplants, the BBC reported on Wednesday. The broadcaster, which also published an article on the issue on its website, said one hospital claimed to be able to provide a liver for 50,000 pounds (94,500 dollars, 74,400 euros), with the chief surgeon at the hospital confirming that the donor could be an executed prisoner.
The country's health ministry did not deny the report, but said it was reviewing the system and the regulations surrounding it.
A spokesman for China's foreign ministry, however, said in March that it "is a complete fabrication … to say that China forcibly takes organs from the people given the death penalty for the purpose of transplanting them."
The foreign ministry did admit at the time, though, that organs from prisoners were used, but insisted that it was only in a "very few cases".
China executes more prisoners than any other country in the world — in 2005, at least 1,770 people were executed, although true figures may be much higher, according to a report by London-based human rights group Amnesty International.
